The Visitor
by 2012001
Summary: (ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2011) He was the only one who treated her like a person.


She collapsed onto the bed with a loud moan. Her arms felt all tingly and weird from the shots they'd given her today. She looked up and tried finding patterns in the ceiling. It was white, white like the floors, like the wall, like the mattress and thin sheet beneath her, like everything here. She sat up slowly, in case some weird after-effect took place. That had happened before.

 _She was so happy. So happy! Why was she even scared? It was all good! She giggled hysterically and didn't notice someone shaking her roughly to calm her. Haha! All so happy~_

"You dolt," She heard someone snap. Why be angry when you can be happy like her? She felt someone gently rubbing her shoulders, speaking to her.

"Relax," He said. "You'll be okay."

She heard another man murmur something. Another hurriedly typed it into a computer. The man behind her continued speaking to her, and his hands still gripped her shoulders. Eventually she calmed down enough to realize someone was touching her, and she jerked away in disgust.

"Better now," He said. She stared at the floor and shivered. Who were they, and why was she so emotional?

"She's perfect," one scientist had said. She heard about a project, but what was she good for? It only meant more tests...

She shivered at the memory. The one scientist who had tried to help her..

"What's your name?"

It was the second time he came to visit her. The first, he'd only sat her down and explained exactly what was going on. But he was the first to do so, and she didn't expect him to return.

"My name?"

No one there called her by name. She was just "she" and "her", "the girl". A small handful didn't even give her a gender pronoun; she was known as "it" and "the catalyst", or "subject". He probably knew her name. They must have had it somewhere...or maybe not. Why would they need her name? No one seemed to care about her in general, only about the experiment results.

"I'm sure you have one."

Was he...teasing her?

"...Sai."

"Sai?" She was alarmed to see him crack a smile. "That's a pretty name. Sai."

Pretty? She looked away.

"I thought I would bring you something."

He reached out and grasped her hand. When he pulled it away, there was a hard candy in her palm. She looked suspiciously at it, them him. He was probably just being nice to get her to eat it. It was probably medicine of some kind.

She tried to give it back, but he shook his head. "It's for you. I promise, it's safe."

She didn't eat it until he left, and was startled to find out it was just candy.

He visited her a lot. Each time, he'd bring her some kind of sweet, and talk to her. Eventually she began to trust him, and even answer his questions. If he asked if she was in pain, his face would go tight.

"I really shouldn't mention it, but...I told them they should be giving you pain medication." He shook his head.

"They don't care about me," She said.

He didn't respond. She thought about it, and it seemed like if he said anything, it'd only be awkward. Because he did care...he was the only one who treated her like she was a person, like more than this 'catalyst' that would bring 'a great new era to the world'. He would do his best to cheer her up.

But he couldn't see her all the time. She never knew when he'd pop in for a visit. She hadn't seen him around for a while lately. Even today she wasn't expecting him.

She overheard someone's question while they were conducting her morning routine (Take her vitals, a small dose of that clear, tasteless stuff, then dull, tasteless food...) a few days ago.

"What's today's date?

"The 8th."

She kept track every day afterward. That would mean...today was her birthday. She would be eighteen today. She looked down at herself. Thin and pale, ink markings permanently drawing on her skin; random x's and dotted lines with no meaning to her. Her hair, once long, had been hacked short. Barely dressed in a small white tank top and shorts. Barely enough to keep her warm; it was always cold in here. She looked so different from when they first brought her here, however long ago that was. It was a warm June night when her life changed...

She looked toward the door. No footsteps outside, no tops of people's heads flashing by the small, raised-up window on the door. No one there.

He promised her it'd all be worth it, once she saw the result. And she'd helped in it so much. He thanked her for it.

Suddenly, there was a light tapping at the door. She straightened up, then called quietly,

"Hello?"

The door opened, revealing a familiar face. He was dressed in similar wear to the other scientists there; a green shirt tucked into white pants, a thin black belt around his waist and a white tie at his neck. A white lab coat, too, and glasses with dark lenses that barely concealed his red eyes. Despite his messy, white hair, he didn't look very old; mid-to-late twenties, certainly not older. She never asked him his age. It didn't matter to her, really. Her face broke into a smile.

"Shin," She said, containing her excitement. She knew he could see it, though, as he chuckled.

"Sai," He said, pulling the metal folding chair over and sitting by her. "How are you?"

It was like a script, she thought. "Okay."

"Nothing hurts?"

"My arms feel a little funny, but it's okay."

"That's great," He said. "It means your body is getting used to it. That's very good."

She nodded. Pictured it in her head; a world where people could communicate without words. There would be so much peace..and she would be the start of it. It was a really big undertaking, but like Shin had said; she was used to it by now. It wasn't any more fun, but she was used to it.

"Don't say anything else," He said when she opened her mouth. "Because I've got something really special. Close your eyes."

She did as she was told, and her cheeks flushed when she felt his hands touching her arm. He wasn't rough or careless like the others, he was so gentle...

"There."

She opened her eyes and held up her arm. A small plush pig was cuddling her arm, its posable arms letting it stay attached to her arm.

"He'll give you a hug whenever you need one," He said.

She suddenly felt like giving him a hug, because she did need one, and an inanimate object wasn't gonna cut it. But that wasn't exactly appropriate, and she couldn't tell him what she thought. Wait, what was she going to say?

"Th...thank you," She mumbled. Whatever she was going to say was completely lost on her.

"I'm sorry," Shin sighed. Sai looked at him, confused.

"Huh?"

"I should be somewhere...I only stopped by really quick to give you this."

She sighed. Of course..he was busy, too..even if he was kind, he was still a part of the project.

Shin took both her hands and squeezed them. Her face went even pinker, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Thank you for everything you're doing."

Sai nodded. Shin let go of her, then stood up to leave.

"I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Okay."

The door shut quietly behind him.

She wondered occasionally about his close scrutiny of her. What did he hope to see in her?

She knew what he wanted him to see in her.

How she really felt about him. Trust.

Respect.

And possibly even lov-

* * *

 _Where's he going?_

"Where's the fire?" Followed by laughter.

 _No need to be humble, you miserable-_

"I don't understand why you could turn this down...but all right, its your decision."

 _Horrible. Disgusting._

Jealousy, Hatred, Malice.

All these things..are what humans are really full of.

Shin walked quickly down the hallway, face expressionless, trying his hardest to ignore the words of those around him. And..

 _Why is he even here?_

 _So many things that can be improved on..._

 _Well, as long as he's in charge.._

 _Declined the promotion, but he basically controls everything.._

 _Why does the director listen to him? He's a stupid kid.._

All of these thoughts screaming at him. Envy and hate. Of course, everyone gave him a kind, supportive look as he passed them.

When he knew their true feelings.

Everything they had done so far was tested on animals. Cats. The results were amazing. Even the angry, terrified strays off the street were suddenly friendly and affectionate towards them. But they were animals. Not humans. They were talking about starting to work on human beings. If it worked on cats, why not them?

So much that could go wrong.

No one knew the real identity of the first test subject of Glass Cage.

He began preparing. Of course, when they later performed these same tests on a person, they rendered them unconscious first, so they wouldn't be aware of anything. Naturally, he was performing these tests on himself, so he needed to be wide awake. Even with the pain slightly diluted, he was still in horrible pain, that first injection...

He slapped his hand over his mouth and screamed into it. No one needed to know he was doing this, and if he made any loud noise..

Nobody could possibly know Shin had ran through the tests on himself, making him the first...not that young child, the little boy who, when he finished recovering, took one look at them all and started screaming..

"Something the matter?"

"Late night," He replied. He shouldn't have bothered showing up today. He was shaking all over, and he was tired, and he hurt all over, and he still wasn't done with himself.

But he had to follow through with it.

More and more nations, people around the world, were all beginning to want this project to follow through. He wanted Glass Cage to be put into effect only if it were completely safe. He saw it as his own personal mission; he'd finish the tests on himself, and if everything went as well as it did on the cats, then they'd start.

If not...

And the moment the whole agonizing experience was over, he could clearly hear them.

At first, he didn't know what he was hearing.

As a result of the testing, he could clearly hear the thoughts of everyone around him. The emotions.

All of them weren't as they seemed.

Hatred. Jealousy. All revolving around him. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Hate. Because he was bitter, quiet, everything he said contradicted them. (They didn't know why he was so tense all the time, nor quiet. They would be, too.)

Jealousy. Because he was the youngest scientist involved, and the most brilliant. He didn't want the responsibility of the director's position, but the director himself (Who showed respect towards absolutely no one but Shin) still turned to him for the final word, or at least helpful advice.

Even when they thought about their own lives outside of work. Never satisfied with how things were. At least you have a happy family, he wanted to scream at them. At least you have loving wives, children, parents, friends...and who do you think I have?

The girl, Sai. She would make the connection with everyone in the world, and humans would be able to communicate more effectively. Without words, the world could become a better, more peaceful place. All this war and conflict would no longer exist. From her, all he could hear was fear and uncertainty, and a grim determination to follow through with them, to listen and do whatever they asked of her. She was kind, though. He couldn't find anything exactly negative in her head, other than the bitterness towards 'those scientists', who didn't care about her well-being.

Shin could sympathize with how she felt. Although he hadn't gone through the same experiments (He wasn't going to be the catalyst for Glass Cage, there was no point,) as her, he knew how she felt, possibly even a bit of jealousy himself, because she had it slightly easier than him. She didn't feel that same torture.

She couldn't hear the negative thoughts and emotions around her.

But there was something in her demeanor that hinted at something else.

Hate.

Hate.

Hate.

 _Who does he think he is?_

 _Freak._

 _Miserable._

 _Disgusting._

But he could hear nothing other than fear.

Envy.

And hatred.


End file.
